I can't stand clutter. I can't make decisions when there are too many choices to make. My sewing room, like my other rooms, is organized to a T. I MUST return every item to its exact place when I've finished using it. I CANNOT function if things aren't orderly.

I can follow directions or patterns to sew, knit or crochet almost anything. I can play the piano by reading music. However, if you take away my pattern/directions/music, I struggle. I have tiny sparks of creativity, but mostly I am a "follow the directions" kind of person. I see the wonderfully creative items my DIL buys on Etsy and think, "Wow, why didn't I think of that?" Sometimes I can copy something I see, as long as it is within my skill set, but I just can't come up with the amazing ideas on my own.

So obviously this makes me left brained. Correct?

My BFF who is an artist, seems to thrive in an atmosphere of clutter and disorganization. I am punctual, she is late. I am tidy, she is messy. But she is an amazing artist. Apparently she is able to set her mind "free" to create (and tidiness is not conducive to creativity, I suppose?) So she is the right-brained, one.

I want to know how you see yourself as Right Brain/Left Brain and see if I am correct in my assumptions. How can we left brained types channel our latent creativity?

Hmmm. interesting.. I know I am most creative when I don't have clutter to distract me.. when everything is organized.... and I don't get hung up on using directions per se.. rarely even read instructions on patterns. or so on.. I can pretty much knock off anything from a garment to a wall painting..
I also refuse to buy any appliance etc.. that I have to read the manual to operate.. Only recently with the newer computer brained machines have I actually read the manuals..
I don't know if I am right or left brained.. or only brainless perhaps..

I guess I should amend my explanation to say that I don't necessarily have to follow written directions word-for-word IF it is a skill I already have. I know how to set in a sleeve, or turn a heel on a sock for example, so I don't read the directions. Or I can play a piece of music without reading it IF I have memorized it.

Well, except for the clutter part, we could trade brains and wouldn't skip a beat. lol

Approx. 15+ years ago, I took a workshop on this very thing at the AQS show in Paducah. A psychology prof from a university up north sent out questionnaires a few months before the show/workshops, which we answered, mailed in by a deadline, and were to get the results at our workshop. Fascinating stuff! (and no,,, I do not remember his name or the university...)

At the workshop, he told us that in addition to each half of the brain, that each half had a front and rear half. In essence, there are quadrants. His questions helped determine the most active side, and then the second-most active quadrant.

Definitely, I am left-brain. But my test results showed the quadrant for creative problem solving was very active. It made so much sense to me, because I usually can find creative solutions for a problem, and explained to me why I enjoyed coaching and judging Odyssey of the Mind. That type stuff is where my creativity lies, and not in the artistic field.

So maybe my clutter problems are a secret way for my brain to engage in creative problem solving? Like..."where are those scissors?" I never thought about that until now.

What, you mean there is yet another dimension? The way you explained it makes sense.

I can also find "creative" solutions for a problem. My creativity, such as it is, is limited to "Here is what I want you to make, now you figure out how to do it". Like the cute items my DIL sees on Etsy, she will sometimes ask me to duplicate them and that I can usually do because I can interpret how it was done. But coming up with the CONCEPT itself is where I feel I am lacking in creativity.

I have read that a lot of the right/left brain stuff has been shown to be not as clear cut as they originally made it out to be. Plus there is so much conditioning learned through our lives that gets layered on top of all the pre-existing in-born stuff.

That being said, I tend to be a messy, creative type. The irony is that I am completely sure would be much more creative if I wasn't messy.

Re: too many choices. There is a lot of evidence to show that people in general do much better and make better choices when they have fewer things to choose from. There is a great TED talk HERE

------http://bgballroom.wordpress.com to follow the progress on my next ballgown.

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